Fossil Fuel Depletion

Fossil fuel depletion: tonnes of oil eq. (toe)

This impact category indicator is related to the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels provide a valuable source of energy and feedstock for materials such as plastics. Although there are alternatives, these are only able to replace a small proportion of our current use. Fossil fuels are a finite resource and their continued consumption will make them unavailable for use by future generations.

BRE uses an absolute measure based on the energy content of the fossil fuel. This does not take into account the relative scarcity of different fossil fuels, but in fact these only vary by 17% between coal (the most common) and gas (the most scarce). The characterisation factor is measured in tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). 41.87 GJ = 1 toe.